Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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290. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of recipients of the pandemic unemployment payment who were retrospectively deemed ineligible for the amount they received and asked to repay overpayments; the delay between each such recipient receiving their last payment and being informed that they were subsequently being deemed ineligible; the reason for this delay; the process by which his Department decided to retrospectively review eligibility; and the total amount being sought in repayment for pandemic unemployment payment overpayments by his Department. [18148/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) was introduced in 2020 in response to the unprecedented disruption caused to the Irish labour market on foot of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Some 880,000 people received at least one payment under the scheme. In total, some 30 million individual payments issued under the scheme.

The Department is undertaking a number of reviews aimed at identifying cases where claimants may not have satisfied the eligibility criteria for receipt of PUP. To date, just over 43,000 Pandemic Unemployment Payment overpayments totaling €105 million in value have been assessed by my department.

These reviews are currently focused on cases where there is an apparent overlap between PUP payment records and employer payroll returns to Revenue.

Under Section 68L (1) (d) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (as amended), PUP was not payable where a person was engaged in insurable employment, that is, worked as an employee. My Department has conducted an extensive analysis of Pandemic Unemployment Payments in the period since 5th August 2020 and has cross checked payments against employer payroll records submitted to the Revenue Commissioners. Where an overlap of PUP and employment has been identified, the person is contacted in relation to a possible overpayment. The Department continues to process these cases and engage with relevant customers.

When contacted about their overpayment, people are given the opportunity to provide clarification on the matter and/or submit relevant information. People are also advised of their right to seek a review of the overpayment decision and their right to appeal the decision to the Social Welfare Appeals Office, which operates independently of my Department. In addition people are informed of the range of options available to them in repaying the debt, including instalment plans, direct debit, standing order or by cheque. People also have the option of repaying their debt online if they have a MyGovID account.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.